Shoulder rest for violins



July 8, 19413 D. F. COFFEE-N ET AL '2,248,854

SHOULDER REST FOR VIOLINS Filed Dec.` ,19, 1940 'edrzr Hfngera, os 17 Laffee/ Patented July 8, 1941 @UNITED STATES Parent ors-ics snoULDER :assis: Foa vroLiNs Delos Frederick Coifeen and'Fredric H. Ingersoll,

South Bend, Ind.

Application-December 19, 1940, Serial No. 370,878

5 Claims. (Cl. Ell-280) This invention relates to an improved shoulder rest for violins and more particularly to a shoulder rest having novel means for detachably connecting it to the bottom plate of a violin and for adjustably positioning it relatively thereto.

More particularly, itis an aim of the invention to provide supporting means including a base member adapted to be detachably fastened to the bottom plate of a violin by the chin rest clamp of the violin and having means for ad- `iustably and detachably connecting another portion of the shoulder rest support thereto for adjustably and detachably mounting the shoulder rest on the bott-om plate yof the violin.

Still another aim of the invention isto provide an improved shoulder rest of simple construction which is shaped and constructed to engage over the collar bone and to rest comfortably upon the shoulder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description ofthe drawing, which illustrates a ypreferred embodiment thereof, and wherein- Figure 1 is an end view in elevation of a Violin and showing the shoulder rest applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the violin with the shoulder rest mounted thereon,

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially along the planes of the lines 3 3, lI-d, and 5 5, respectively, of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one element of the shoulder rest support.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, I@ designates generally a portion of a violin having a top plate Il and bottom plate I2 at the `outer ends of which are mounted a conventional clamp i3 for attaching a conventional chin rest Ill on the top .plate II. These parts are of conventional construction and are illustrated and described merely to better illustrate the application of the improved shoulder rest, designated generally i5, and comprising the invention.

The shoulder rest I5, as best seen in Figures 2 to 5, is relatively long and narrow and is provided With widened upwardly curved ends I 6.

The shoulder rest includes a base portion or inner ply which may be formed of any suitable, substantially rigid material, designated I'I, and an outer ply I8 of cushioning material such as velvet or corduroy which is disposed over the base portion il and suitably secured thereto. The upturned. end 'portions of the base member I1 are adapted to rest against the bottom plate l2. As bestLseen in Figure 2, the shoulder rest l5 is curved so that its ends I6. are offset relatively'to one another and said ends i5 are shaped to fit againsty the bead I9 of the violin I0 and to conform to the curvature of the portion thereof against which the ends I8 engage so that the shapeof' the `ends i5 willr cause the shoulder rest to readily accommodate itself to acorrect position relatively to the bottom plate l2. The shoulder rest i5, as best seen in Figures 3 to 5, is curved transversely, intermediate of its endsr I6, to slope toward the outer'end of the violin II) or toward the chin rest clamp i3. The intermediate portion of the shoulder rest i5 is also bowed inwardly and toward the plate I2. It vwill thus be seen that the shoulder rest l5 is shaped to lit over the collar bone and to rest comfortably upon the shoulder.

The shoulder rest I5 is provided with supporting means, designated generally 261, comprising a base plate 2l having a laterally elongated flange 22 at one end thereof which is disposed substantially a at a right angle to plate 2i and which is adapted to bepositioned beneath one end of the chin rest clamp I3 between said end and the bottom plate I2 so that the chin rest clamp i3 will clamp the ilange 22 to the bottom plate I2. When thus positioned, as seen in Figure 5, the plate 2I is disposed beyond the bead le and extends toward the top plate il and is disposed in spaced apart substantially parallel relationship to the rib 23 of the violin Iii. rihe plate 2i is provided with a threaded opening 2li for receiving the threaded shank of a set screw 25 which is provided with a knurled head and a restricted collar portion 26 on the inner side thereof. The supporting means Ztl also includes an arm 2l one end of which is detachably fastened to the under side of the intermediate portion of the base portion Il by the fastenings E8. The arm 2l is provided with an angularly disposed opposite end 29 which is provided with a longitudinal slot 3E) which opens outwardly of the free end thereof and through which extends the shank of the set screw 25.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that when the set screw 25 is tightened the inner side of its collar 2B will bear against the slotted portion of the end 29 for clamping the arm 2l to the plate 2l for securing the shoulder rest I5 in position on the bottom plate i2. The shoulder rest I5 and the arm 2l may be readily removed from the violin Ill by merely loosening the set screw 25 and drawing the end 29 downwardly and away from the violin IU. The shoulder rest I5 can be tilted to better adjust it to the curvature of the shoulder by adjustably positioning the end 29 relatively to the set screw 25 and then tightening the set screw for securing the arm 21 in its adjusted position to thereby secure the shoulder rest I5 in any one of a number of adjusted positions relatively to the violin l0. From the 'foregoing it will be seen that the shoulder rest l5 is mounted by means of its support 20 on a violin IU of conventional construction without the use of any fastening means and that the shoulder rest and its supporting means 20 in its entirety can be detached by merely loosening the chin rest clamp i3.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

We claim as our invention:

l. An attachment for violins comprising an elongated shoulder rest having curved upwardly extending ends for bearing against the bottom plate of a violin for spacing the intermediate portion therefrom, a support including a bracket having an elongated arm attached at one end thereof to the inner side of the shoulder rest, an angle plate having one side disposed against the bottom plate of the violin and beneath a portion of a chin rest clamp for clamping said plate to the violin, a set screw in the other portion of said plate, and said arm being provided with an angularly disposed extension at its opposite end provided with an elongated slot opening outwardly of the free end thereof for engaging the shank of the set screw for adjustably fastening said arm to the plate.

2. A device as in claim l, said shoulder rest having an inwardly bowed intermediate portion, the shoulder rest being curved transversely, from end to end thereof, to slope toward its supporting means and being constructed and arranged to snugly t the shoulder and collar bone.

3. A support for violin shoulder rests comprising a plate having an angularly disposed flange disposed between a portion of a chin rest clamp and the bottom plate of a violin and detachably secured thereby to the violin, an arm attached at one end to a shoulder rest, disposed beneath the violin, and having an opposite, angularly disposed end engaging against said plate, said angularly disposed end being provided with a slot, and a set screw mounted in said plate and extending through said slot for adjustably and detachably connecting the arm and plate for adjustably and detachably mounting the shoulder rest on the violin.

4. A shoulder rest for violins comprising an elongated relatively narrow shoulder rest having upwardly curved ends resting against the bottom plate of a violin, said shoulder rest having an inwardly bowed intermediate portion curved transversely to slope toward the tail piece of the violin and constructed and arranged to fit the shoulder and collar bone, supporting means detachably connected to the violin by a chin rest clamp, said supporting means including adjustable sections for adjustably positioning the shoulder rest relatively to the under side of the violin.

5. A support for violin shoulder rests comprising a bracket having a flanged end disposed against the underside of the bottom plate of a violin and adapted to be clamped thereto by a chin rest clamp, said bracket including an upwardly projecting portion, spaced outwardly from the bead of the violin, said upwardly projecting portion being provided with a clamping screw., and a supporting arm having an end adapted to be connected to a shoulder rest, said arm having an opposite upturned end, said upturned end being slotted to engage the screw, and said screw being operable for clamping the upturned end against the upwardly projecting portion to adjustably and detachably mount the shoulder rest on the underside of the violin.

FREDRIC H. INGERSOLL. DELOS FREDERICK COFFEEN. 

